Observing snowmelt dynamics on fast ice in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, with NOAA/AVHRR data and field measurements.

Willmes, Sascha, Bareiss, Jörg, Haas, Christian and Nicolaus, Marcel (2009) Observing snowmelt dynamics on fast ice in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, with NOAA/AVHRR data and field measurements. Polar Research, 28 (2). pp. 203-213. DOI 10.1111/j.1751-8369.2009.00095.x.

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Abstract

Temporal snowmelt dynamics on fast ice in Kongsfjorden/Svalbard are studied for the period 1990–2003, using visible and near-infrared channels of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). Long-term radiation data from an adjacent Baseline Surface Radiation Network station, as well as extensive glaciological and meteorological field measurements on the melting ice in 2002 and 2003, are used to validate a snowmelt index derived from the satellite data. This study shows that the remote sensing data are in good agreement with the field observations. However, the temporal variability of atmospheric water vapour has an impact on the snowmelt index, and must be accounted for through atmospheric correction. The analysis of long-term satellite data provides valuable insight into the strength and rate of the snow-volume decay, and reveals a strong interannual variability of the snowmelt intensity. However, a precise date for determining melt onset requires clear-sky AVHRR data throughout the onset period.

Document Type: Article
Keywords: Antarctic peninsula; Antarctica; Arctic ocean; Biodiversity; Climate change; Distribution; Foraminifera; Governance; Greenland; High Arctic; International Polar Year; Laptev Sea; Mesoscale modelling; Polynya; Sea ice; Seabirds; Snow; Southern Ocean; Spitsbergen; Svalbard
Research affiliation: HGF-AWI
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: Yes
Publisher: Norwegian Polar Institute
Projects: Polynya, Laptev Sea System
Date Deposited: 17 Apr 2015 09:35
Last Modified: 17 Apr 2015 09:35
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/28546

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